The Qur’an contains ninety-three passages in reference to Jesus and, together, they present a clear picture of what Muslims believe. Chronologically, this begins with Mary, the mother of Jesus. The Qur’an tells the story of Mary’s birth and describes how God graciously accepted her, making her grow in goodness, and entrusting her to be raised by Zachariah[3][4]. God chose Mary above all other women as the most pure and sent angels to give her news that she was to give birth to a pure son[5] called Jesus, the Messiah[6]. The angels tell her that Jesus “will be held in honor in this world and the next”, he “will be one of those brought near to God”, “he will speak to people in his infancy”, and “he will be one of the righteous” [7]. Mary has an entire sura named after her, one of only eight people to have this honor, and is affirmed to have given a virginal birth and to have afterward remained a virgin[8]. It is believed that Jesus was able to speak as an infant; after Mary gives birth to Jesus and carries him back to her people, she is accosted with accusations and it is then where Jesus speaks his first words and defends her honor[9]. In these first words, Jesus declares himself as a prophet and a servant of God who will be raised up after death and return at the final judgment[10].

Throughout his life, Jesus is believed to have performed several miracles by the permission of God; he transforms a clay bird into a real one, heals the blind and the leper, and brings the dead back to life[11]. He was sent to follow in the footsteps of previous prophets and to confirm the Torah that had been sent before him[12]. The Qur’an also says that God gave Jesus the Gospel with guidance, light, and confirmation as a guide and lesson for the followers of God[13]. Jesus is believed to be a fully human prophet; he is never said to claim divinity but instead attributes all he does to the power of God. When asked by God if he ever said for people to take him as a god, Jesus replies, “I would never say what I had no right to say”[14]. The Qur’an also mentions the disciples of Jesus, although not by name. The disciples are said to follow Jesus and declare themselves as Muslims[15].

Regarding the death of Jesus, the Qur’an denies that Jesus actually died or was ever crucified[16]. Muslims believe that Jesus physically ascended into heaven and that the disbelievers claimed victory only because “it was made to appear like that to them”[17]. The Qur’an states that Jesus will return again at the end of days when everyone will be judged on their adherence to Islam[18].

In addition to the Qur’an, Muslims look to the Hadith as an authority on Jesus. Several Hadith expand upon elements of Jesus described in the Qur’an, particularly about the end of his existence on Earth and what comes after. The Hadith present an “image of Jesus as an end-of-time figure”[19]. In one Hadith, Muhammad says, “the son of Mary will come back down among you very soon as a just judge”[20] and in another he says that he has been shown that Jesus will return to defeat the Antichrist[21]. This supports the general thought that Jesus is currently awaiting the end of time when he will “descend to the earth and fight against the Antichrist, championing the cause of Islam” and “point to the primacy of Muhammad” before dying a natural death[22]. Muslims see Jesus as a precursor to Muhammad and believe that Jesus predicted Muhammad’s coming in the canonical Gospel of John.

On Sunday we sang the Christmas carol ‘What Child is This?’ I am writing about Mary in the Quran for a project and have done months of research on the Islamic view of Mary, or Maryam. Something that has come up repeatedly is one of the titles for Jesus as ‘Jesus the son of Mary’. Isa ibn Maryam.

I don’t hear either Mary or Jesus referred to that way very often among Christians but it occurs thirteen times in the Quran and the phrase ‘Jesus, the Messiah, the son of Mary’ is used three times.

This is the only song I can think of that sings about Jesus, the son of Mary. Also, Jesus is referred to in both the Quran and the Bible as the Word of God which appears in verse two of this carol.

So when we sang the song on Sunday, I couldn’t help but think that it sounded like a Muslim Christmas song. I’m not saying it is one, or that my Muslim friends would necessarily agree with everything in the song, but it made me think about them, made me think about Djibouti.

And, for the first time since being back this year, I felt a pang in my chest because I miss them. I miss the way Djibouti helps me think and live outside the box of shopping malls and inside deeper realities than fast food restaurants. So I’m posting the lyrics as a reminder of the one who also left one world to live in another for a time, in honor of the one who ached for his eternal home.

1. What Child is this who, laid to rest
On Mary’s lap is sleeping?
Whom Angels greet with anthems sweet,
While shepherds watch are keeping?

This, this is Christ the King,
Whom shepherds guard and Angels sing;
Haste, haste, to bring Him laud,
The Babe, the Son of Mary.

2. Why lies He in such mean estate,
Where ox and ass are feeding?
Good people, fear, for sinners here
The silent Word is pleading.

Nails, spear shall pierce Him through,
The cross be borne for me, for you.
Hail, hail the Word made flesh,
The Babe, the Son of Mary.

3. So bring Him incense, gold and myrrh,
Come peasant, king to own Him;
The King of kings salvation brings,
Let loving hearts enthrone Him.

Raise, raise a song on high,
The virgin sings her lullaby.
Joy, joy for Christ is born,
The Babe, the Son of Mary.

Today is Good Friday, the day on which Jesus died. Some Christians act as though it is a day of sadness because the Messiah died. It is not a day of sadness. It is a day of rejoicing. In fact, the prophet David wrote this about the day of the Messiah’s death in the Zabur:

The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. This is the LORD’s doing; it is marvelous in our eyes. This is the day that the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. – Psalm 118:22-24

The Injil makes clear that this cornterstone is Jesus Christ (see Mark 12:10-11; Ephesians 2:20; 1 Peter 2:4-7). His rejection is from God. Certainly God could have protected the Messiah; here is no doubt about that. But what if God wanted Jesus to die as part of his great plan to bring glory to himself by defeating Satan and removing his people’s sin? Jesus Christ did not die apart from God’s will; he died because of it: “This is the Lord’s doing.”

So we call this day Good because on it the Lord did a marvelous thing. Through the death of his beloved servant he accomplished salvation for all who would believe. Let us rejoice in this day!

“Most people in the world believe that if there is a God, you related to God by being good. Most religions are based on that principle, though there are a million different variations on it. Some religions are what you might call nationalistic: You connect to God, they say, by coming into our people group and taking on the markers of society membership. Other religions are spiritualistic: You reach God by working your way through certain transformations of consciousness. Yet other religions are legalistic: There’s a code of conduct, and if you follow it God will look upon you with favor. But they all have the same logic: If I perform, if I obey, I’m accepted. The gospel of Jesus is not only different from that but diametrically opposed to it: I’m fully accepted in Jesus Christ, and therefore I obey.”

- Tim Keller, King’s Cross: The Story of the World in the Life of Jesus

But often, my Muslim friends just don’t see any reason to believe that Jesus is God. They don’t see why Jesus Christ has to be both man and God (an admittedly difficult thing to explain). I read the following answer by Sinclair Ferguson in his book, In Christ Alone: Living the Gospel Centered Life and thought it might be helpful for my Muslim readers to better understand why we think it is so important that Jesus is both God and man, even if you still disagree.

What makes this two-nature [God and man] Christology essential to the gospel? John’s answer [from the Gospel of John] is twofold:

1. Only God – the One through whom “all things were made” (John 1:3, cf. v. 10), in whom “was life” and “light” (John 1:4) – can reverse creation’s death and dissipate the darkness caused by sin.

2. But since that death and darkness are within creation, within man, the Word must become flesh in order to restore it from within. The Creator must enter His own creation, groaning as it is under the burden of alienation from Him.*

*Sinclair Ferguson, In Christ Alone: Living the Gospel Centered Life (Orlando: Reformation Trust Publishing, 2007), 13.

What is the truth that all Christians say everyone must know? Ought to believe? It’s Jesus Christ on the cross. And what do you see on the cross–the Son of God dying, bleeding, serving and loving his enemies. If you take into the very center of your being as the absolute truth this Jesus, dying for people who oppose him, hate him, could that possibly make you intolerant, arrogant, and judgmental towards opposing people? Of course not! If it does, then, you haven’t grasped Christianity. You have a veneer of it, not the essence.

Read the whole thing.

As similar as many of our values are, there are differences in our theology, especially regarding our beliefs about Jesus Christ. Who is Jesus Christ? What did he do? It is the answers to these questions that separate us (the separation is theological – it doesn’t have to be relational).

This morning as I read my Bible I came across a passage that defines the differences between us. When I read this text my heart fills with praise to God and gratefulness for his mercy and compassion. I am really happy that I am reconciled to God, that I have peace with the Lord of the worlds. Here are the verses:

For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross. – Colossians 1:19-20

HT: Life Together

Saydna Isa makes a remarkable promise:

Come to me, all who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For my yoke is easy and my burden is light (Matthew 11:28-30).

When the Injil was revealed by God there were no chapter division or verse numbers. They were added later to help us reference particular sentences in the Injil. Because of this, we at times fail to see that chapters are linked together. This is a good example of this, for the Messiah makes these comments at the end of chapter 11, but we cannot fully understand them without what he also says (and does) in chapter 12 about the Sabbath (a holy day of rest).

In chapter 12 the disciples were picking grain on the Sabbath, which the religious leaders of the day believed was disobeying the command to not work on the Sabbath. Our master Jesus shows that this is not true because God has always meant for the Sabbath to be a day when people’s needs are met. The disciples were hungry and in need and God never intended the Sabbath to be a burden when people’s needs were not met. Therefore, since the Sabbath was created for man and for man’s good, it was not wrong to meet an immediate need on the Sabbath. Jesus Christ follows this by saying, “The Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath” (Matthew 12:8).

In the very next story we see our master Jesus healing a man with a withered hand on the Sabbath. It is good, right and “lawful to do good on the Sabbath” (Matthew 12:12). Even though the religious leaders thought Jesus Christ should not heal on the Sabbath, Jesus did it because it is God’s desire that people’s needs are met every day, even (especially!) on the holy day of rest.

God wants us to have rest. He wants us to rest on the Sabbath day and every day. He wants us to trust that he will do us good. Jesus Christ is the lord of the Sabbath and thus he is the lord of rest. This is why he is able to offer rest to all who come to him. Everyday we seek to make ourselves clean and acceptable to God through our own works. It is hard and laborious (and impossible) to try and be good enough. Jesus Christ offers a different way. He invites us to come to him, all who labor and heavy laden (who doesn’t labor and isn’t heavy laden?!). He will give us rest, for he is the lord of the Sabbath

Related Posts:
The Prophet Noah
Rest: The Meaning of Noah – Part 1
Rest: The Meaning of Noah – Part 3